PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks will host the San Diego Padres in the first-ever regular season games in Mexico City on April 18-19, as was announced today by MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). The 2020 series will be the first MLB games to be played in the newly built Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium, completed in March of 2019 and holds a capacity crowd of 20,000.

“The D-backs are committed to spreading our game internationally and specifically throughout Mexico, where we have thousands of loyal fans across the country,” said D-backs President & CEO Derrick Hall. “As a member of MLB’s International Committee, I’ve seen first-hand the incredible efforts made on a league-wide level to help grow the sport of baseball across the globe and we are honored to be selected to play in Mexico City.”

The series will mark the franchise’s 12th trip south of the border, more than any other team in Major League history. It is the second consecutive season the D-backs will play in Mexico, having participated in a two-game exhibition series in Monterrey last season following 10 exhibition games in Hermosillo from 1998-2015.

The team’s Hispanic fan base is among the largest in baseball, as the D-backs hosted their fourth annual Liga Mexicana del Pacifico (LMP) Day on Aug. 31, 2019 and the crowd of 50,180 was the largest single-game attendance in Chase Field history.

The D-backs hosted the World Baseball Classic at Chase Field twice (2006, ‘13) and Mexican League teams three times, while the team has faced Team Mexico during Spring Training on three occasions (2006, ’09, ‘13).

Since the organization’s inception, the D-backs have traveled regularly to Mexico. Arizona executives have made over a dozen trips in the past five years including official state visits to Mexico City and Guadalajara with various Valley dignitaries and elected officials. Members of the D-backs front office have been invited on several occasions to visit LMP’s offices to share best practices. Next spring, the D-backs will serve as the sponsor for the sixth annual half marathon in Hermosillo, marking the third time the team has participated in that event (2016, ‘19).

Erubiel Durazo, who ranks fourth all-time in home runs among Mexico-born Major Leaguers, serves as Special Advisor on Mexico to Hall and was a member of the 2001 World Series champions. Fellow 2001 World Series champion Luis Gonzalez has made countless trips to Mexico since joining the front office in 2009. During each of the past three years, Gonzalez has hosted a charity golf tournament in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico, alongside several former D-backs players and hosted several youth clinics in Hermosillo. The team’s Spanish-language broadcast team features renowned Mexico-born play-by-play announcer Oscar Soria and analyst Rodrigo López, whose 81 wins ranks seventh all-time among pitchers born in Mexico. López recently served as the Honorary President of the Premier 12 in which Mexico qualified for the 2020 Olympics.